


Stay

by aweewah



Series: Cold Night [1]
Category: Bandom, Paramore, Real Person Fiction, You Me At Six
Genre: But at least Josh came, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Friendship/Love, Joshley, Love, SuperJosh, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, What the hell Chad, are you gonna stay the night, making everything better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-27
Updated: 2014-02-27
Packaged: 2018-01-14 00:18:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1245661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aweewah/pseuds/aweewah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The desperation in Hayley's voice was what called me to come over. </p><p>Even though I knew that going to her place was out of the question and out of the way, I only thought about how much she needed me. How I was the only one she could turn to because all the people she relied on weren't around. But I still wondered why I would be the only person for her to call. I was far away. No where near where she was.</p><p>And yet I still showed up at her doorstep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Help Me Come Back Down

It all started with a phone call.  
  
After finally being able to shut my eyes that night, I was awakened by the shrill sound of my cellphone ringing at full blast in my ear. I shot up out of bed and cursed under my breath for thinking it was a great idea to place my phone so close to me and once I was done rubbing my eyes, I picked up the device to see who would possibly want to call me at this hour. That’s when my eyes widened at the sight of her name in big letters on the bright screen while the ringing continued.  
  
 _Hayley Williams_  
  
She and I were close. Closer than I ever expected us to be. So close that it had gotten to the point where we could turn to each other in times of need. We had met a few years back, the both of us reaching our late teens at the time and somehow keeping in touch despite the huge distance between us. The phone calls that we exchanged made it seem as if she was always right beside me. As if we weren’t always traveling all over the world to perform in all these cities along with our respective bands. There were times where she was in Brazil while I was out somewhere in Australia. Other times she was going all over the US while I found myself going around Europe.  
  
But all she had to do was call and it would feel like I was in the states with her. Or wherever she was. Or she was with me. Laughing at her jokes or listening to some of her rants, letting her lean against me while we talked about everything we wanted each other to hear. The more we called each other as the years went by, the clearer the picture in my mind became and the more she felt close. Once in a while, we would really see each other and those times I spent with her on her tour bus were arguably the most I’ve had fun while on the road.  
  
I would be sitting with her on the worn leather couch, entertaining her with my latest tale of humiliation that occurred at the most recent show I’ve performed. Some of those stories involved me tripping on the cord of my own microphone or somebody throwing a waterbottle at me. She’d be resting her head on my shoulder, pointing out that she had seen those things happen to me, thanks to her watching the events from the side of the stage. I would let out a chuckle and didn’t even need to see her face to know that she wanted to laugh at me. I could already sense a smile tugging at her lips from her voice alone.  
  
“You’re always such a klutz,” she would tease.  
  
My response would be a simple shrug. “They all seem to like that about me anyway.”  
  
And she’d look up at me, nodding in agreement. “I like it, too.”  
  
Then she’d give me her own embarrassing stories, going on about how her makeup sometimes smeared all over her face during her shows, making her look like she was crying tears of eyeliner, eyeshadow, and mascara. I knew what she was talking about; I’d once seen her backstage afterwards. To be honest, that didn’t really stop her from being beautiful, but I let her continue with her story. It was sort of an attempt to make me feel less stupid from my own embarrassing moments, but I didn’t mind telling her about them because the whole point was that they made her happy.  
  
I couldn’t help but grin at seeing her green eyes light up when she giggled. Sometimes I wanted to brush her orange hair out of her face, just so I could be able to look her in the eyes. Of course, I always stopped myself from doing this gesture. Instead, I laughed along with her and she’d put her head back on my shoulder and I’d rest my own head on top of hers. We talked for hours until it got late and I had to head back to my own bus. This was how our hangouts usually went.  
  
Her bandmates would either be playing video games in the back lounge or they would be out of the bus, probably off to go mingle with all the other people we were touring with. After all, our bands weren’t the only ones around. Which made me value our friendship even more. Of all the guys she was surrounded by, she decided she wanted to hang out with me. She wanted to tell me all her secrets, she wanted to lean against me as we talked, and she overall thought of me as one of her best mates.  
  
And she was was calling me at two in the morning.  
  
Normally, I would’ve ignored the call. I would’ve thrown my phone off of the bed and put the pillow over my head to block out the ear-piercing noise until it stopped. I would’ve went straight back to sleep and that would’ve been the end of it. If it was anybody else but her, I wouldn’t have hesitated to end the call before it reached the second ring. But not this time. I couldn’t just ignore the call. Not if she needed me.  
  
I finally answered. “Hayley?”  
  
There was no response at first and for a moment I was afraid that I had answered too late and that she had hung up. I held my breath and listened closely for any sign that she was still on the other end, letting out a sigh of relief when I heard something that indicated she was there. However, my relief immediately turned into worry when I got a better listen of what the noise was. I didn’t hear her voice. In place of that, all I heard were small gasps of breath and sniffling, with her attempts at uttering a sentence only coming out as unintelligible sounds. It was then that I realized that she was crying.  
  
“Hayley?” I repeated. “Hayles, are you okay?”  
  
She took a few deep breaths and eventually her sobs and gasping had toned down. Though her voice was shaky when she spoke, I was able to understand her.  
  
“I n-need you t-to...” she stammered before the sobbing returned, this time even louder. I couldn’t take hearing her like this. Hearing Hayley’s voice—the voice that was usually so strong and so energetic—struggle to finish just one sentence was heartbreaking. In all my years of knowing her, I had not once ever heard her sound so broken, so  _hurt_. And to make matters worse, I was not there beside her and it killed me to feel so helpless, unable to do anything for her when clearly, she needed me more than ever.  
  
“Just calm down,” I said softly, getting out of bed. “Take deep breaths again and then talk when you’re ready.”  
  
She did as I told her and this time I waited a little longer until she had calmed down. She spoke again, but this time she wasn’t stuttering and tried her best to remain composed. “I need you here.”  
  
“What?” I asked, not sure if I had heard her correctly. For most people, this would’ve been a completely fast, easy, and possible thing to do. If these were normal circumstances, I would’ve driven down to her place in a matter of minutes. But obviously, the reason why I was surprised by Hayley’s words were because these circumstances were most certainly _not_  normal. Possible? Yes. Easy? No. Fast? Far from it.  
  
Hayley lived thousands of miles away from me. We didn’t even have the same time zone and in order to get to her, I would have to get on a plane and it would take me hours to finally reach her. Besides worrying about that, I was confused on why she needed  _me_ there. She had her band; two guys who were way more reliable than me. Sure enough, I got my answer.  
  
“Something’s happened,” her voice was faltering again. “I have nobody else to turn to. Taylor’s away visiting family and Jeremy and Kat are gone, too. I don’t want to be alone right now. I...I can’t. You’re the only one I thought to call...”  
  
The sobs were muffled this time, making me guess that she was probably covering her mouth to keep herself from being too loud. That just made her sound even more distressed than she already was and I only pictured her doing all she could to keep it together when in reality, she could barely stay on the phone with me without falling apart. Whatever happened to her, it was bad and there was no way she should have to go through it alone. She didn’t deserve something like this. Not Hayley.  
  
“I-I’m sorry for sounding so ridiculous,” she murmured when I didn’t say anything. “I shouldn’t have called you. I know there’s no way-”  
  
“I’m coming.”  
  
I once made a promise to her that I’d always be there for her if she needed me. Far away or not, I couldn’t just leave her like that when I could be there with her. I was going to stick to my promise, even if that meant packing my things in the middle of the night and heading to her place.  
  
“A-are you sure?” she asked. “Because you really don’t have to...”  
  
“No, you need me, so I’m heading over there.” I assured her. “Just hold on a little bit longer, Hayles. I’m coming for you.”  
  
“Okay,” she muttered. Though she sounded exhausted and slightly hoarse, I could also tell she was grateful. “I’ll see you soon.”  
  
Before I could say anything else, she hung up on me, but I was more focused on getting my things. I still didn’t know what was going on and what happened to her, but I knew I had to get there as soon as possible. I changed into an old t-shirt, put on the first pair of jeans I could find, and then I grabbed my bag. I stuffed it with whatever was important to bring with me and once it looked like I was all set, I slipped on my shoes.  
  
I was out the door before the time had even hit two-thirty.

 

* * *

 

I was on the next flight to California, meaning I was past the point of no return. There was no way I was going to back out. Not when I had already gotten this far and definitely not on the girl who had called me in tears. Despite barely getting any sleep by the time I had gotten on the plane, I wasn’t tired anymore and couldn’t even think about relaxing. Hayley was all I could think about and I could only hear her voice, her pleas, her desperately reaching out for me.  
  
The band didn’t know I had left. At least, not yet. I was fully aware that they were going to be furious with me by the time they found out because it happened to be a few days before we were going on tour again. Hopefully they would understand my actions, though I anticipated them to still be angry about what I did.  
  
By the time the plane had landed, it was the early hours in the morning there. She lived in Los Angeles, something I thankfully remembered before getting a last minute plane ticket and I only knew her address because she once wanted me to send her a copy of my band’s latest album. Fortunately, since it was still so extremely early, traffic wasn’t as chaotic and I was able to get to her house. With my bag in hand, I made my way up the walkway and stood in front of her door. Taking a deep breath, I lifted my arm and knocked.  
  
It felt like I had been standing there for what seemed like forever and my heart was beating rapidly, waiting for her to answer. I felt bad because she was probably sleeping or at least trying to. Who knows what she had been doing since we talked on the phone?  
  
When the door finally opened, I dropped my bag and felt a pang in my stomach at the sight of the girl who had always been known for her bright and cheerful personality. The girl standing in the doorway looked almost nothing like the Hayley I was so used to.  
  
Her hair was completely disheveled, strands of it sticking out in various angles. The red crewneck she was wearing was stained with tears, especially the ends of the sleeves, indicating she had used them as her own personal tissues. There were bags underneath her swollen eyes and there were also dark circles around them from her lack of sleep. Not only that, but they were also bloodshot and glassy from hours of crying. In fact, she was still crying and my heart sank when I looked at her tear-stained cheeks and dry lips. It was already painful to just  _hear_  her, but to  _see_  her in this state just twisted the knife.  
  
Her lips parted as if she was about to say something, but then she moved forward and threw her arms around me. I responded by wrapping my arms around her as well and held her tightly as she buried her face into my chest, breaking down and letting the tears fall. We both stood there as I allowed her to release all the emotions she had been trying to hold in until she managed to say something in between her gasps.  
  
“You’re here,” she whispered. “You’re really here.”  
  
I just nodded and gave her a small smile. “I told you I’d come.”  
  
I took her inside to where the couch was so she could sit down and after making her a cup of tea, I joined her. She took a few sips of her drink before she set down the mug on the coffee table and returned to leaning against me. Hayley looked so tired, but she didn’t want to fall asleep and I didn’t either, even though I was finally starting to feel exhausted myself. What I really wanted was to know what exactly happened to cause her so much pain.  
  
“What happened to you, Hayles?” I leaned back on the couch and shifted my body so we could both be comfortable.  
  
At my question, she curled up against me and I noticed that her lips were quivering. Wiping the tears away from her eyes, she faced me, but our eyes didn’t meet. She wasn’t ready to look me in the eyes yet, mostly because she was afraid she would end up losing it again.  
  
“Chad left me.”


	2. Leave Me With Some Kind of Proof It's Not a Dream

Before I let her tell me the whole story, I told Hayley she should at least get some rest because she really needed to sleep if she wanted to at least feel a little better. She still refused to close her eyes, but I suggested she lay down on the couch in case she gave in to slumber, that way she was in a more comfortable position. I scooted over to give her room and in an effort to get her to smile, I offered her to use my lap as a footrest. For a moment it worked and she let out some laughter, putting her feet on me and grinning a little. Sadly, it disappeared in seconds when she remembered why she didn’t want to sleep. She wanted to tell me what Chad did.  
  
Whatever he did, it already didn’t sit well with me because he had done something that left Hayley a mess. Her unkempt and unrecognizable appearance was the result of his actions and she felt so hopeless; her spirit broken and her idea of happiness crushed.  
  
I listened as Hayley told me how she had just lost the guy that she had loved so much for almost six years. Their relationship had started out like a typical love story. After Hayley broke up with Josh Farro, she eventually met Chad who, in her eyes, seemed like the perfect guy who understood her more than anyone else. She didn’t care if he happened to be seven years older than her because all that mattered was that they were in love. I had never really been close to Chad Gilbert, having only met him once when he surprised Hayley by showing up to one of her concerts. Though I wasn’t his friend, I knew how happy he made her and how she always thought he was the one.  
  
Apparently, she wasn’t the one for him.  
  
“He told me we weren’t right for each and never were,” she was telling me. “That I wasn’t in the right mindset like him because I was younger, which was making us drift apart because we wanted different things. Then he told me he never should’ve been with me in the first place.”  
  
Basically, Chad felt like Hayley was holding him back and he had grown to resent her for it. He began to think she was just some  _kid_  and that fucked up mentality caused him to do the worst thing he could ever do to her. That mentality caused him to end up in bed with another woman and to add fuel to the flame, it was  _Hayley’s_  bed. The real fucking kicker? She walked in on them and his final decision was to leave Hayley and run off with that woman he cheated on her with. At hearing all this, my fist tightened and I wanted to find Chad and rip his fucking throat out. She thought he’d be the one she’d settle down with. She wrote a  _fucking song_  for him. They were together for six years and he decided to just leave her for a woman he screwed around with in Hayley’s house.  
  
Rip his throat out? No, he was going to  _wish_  I ripped his throat out once I find him.  
  
She was sitting up again, this time holding a few napkins that I grabbed for her so she wouldn’t have to use her sleeves to wipe her eyes. “I actually saw myself having a future with him. I-I really believed he’d be the guy to just sweep me off my feet. I thought he was my happy ending, but in the end...maybe he was right.”  
  
I frowned and shook my head. “No. No, don’t say that.”  
  
“Maybe I  _am_  just some stupid naive kid,” she buried her face in her hands. “Maybe I was stupid and blind for thinking we were okay when we clearly weren’t. This all was probably punishment from God for not seeing it before and I was too busy being a fucking _idiot_.”  
  
“Hey, look at me,” I took her hands from her face, causing her to look up. “The only idiot is Chad. He did the stupidest thing any guy could ever do and that was not realizing that he just let go of the best thing that ever happened to him. He’s a fucking prick and he never deserved to have someone as amazing as you.”  
  
She lightly squeezed my hands and managed to smile. “You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”  
  
“Stop that,” I said. “I mean it, Hayley. I mean everything I say because I just don’t understand why he would ever do that to you. He said you didn’t have the ‘same mindset’ as him? He left you because what, you’re not afraid to be crazy and weird sometimes because you don’t care what anyone thinks? That nobody could ever be upset when they’re around you because you’re so loving and always make people laugh? That you actually cared for him? He left because he’s a coward and he couldn’t grasp the fact that the most amazing girl anyone could ever have was right in front of him.”  
  
For some reason, I had began to lean in closer to her. It had even seemed like she was leaning toward me. As I looked into those vivid green eyes of hers, I lifted my hand up and moved the strand of hair in front of her face behind her ear. My other hand was still holding hers, squeezing it slightly to let her know that I wasn’t going anywhere. I was there for her and I didn’t want to be anywhere else.  
  
“If I had someone like you, I’d never let her go,” I told her.  
  
But the truth was, I didn’t want someone like her. There would never really be any other girl like her. Sure, some people might cut it close and kind of be like her in their own different ways, but I didn’t want someone that was similar. As we both sat there on her couch, holding each other’s hands and facing each other, I realized that all I wanted was _her_. It hit me that I had always wanted Hayley. From the moment we met when I was just some awkward seventeen year-old kid and she was a girl who had already won the hearts of a million people all over the world. She was my best friend and I cared for her so much. Whenever she needed me, I would just drop what I was doing and make my way to her as long as it meant that she would no longer be sad or angry. I did these things because our friendship meant so much to me and I didn’t want to lose a good friend like her.  
  
It took me all these years to realize that I also did these things because I loved her.  
  
Hayley let go of my hand and grinned even wider, her arms slowly pulling me into a hug. She rested her chin on my shoulder and I did the same to her, smiling as well from the gesture. That’s when she loosened her hold on me so we could be face to face again, her hands placed on my shoulders.  
  
“She’d never let you go, too,” she murmured. “Because she’d realize that you’ve been the one this whole time.”  
  
Our faces were inches apart, close enough that our foreheads were practically touching. My heart was once again beating faster than it should’ve and I let her lean in closer, all the while wondering if this whole situation was even real. Before I knew it, her lips pressed against mine and I was pretty sure I wanted to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I started kissing her back and let my arms go around her waist. I fell back on the couch so that we were both laying down, my head resting on the arm of the couch while she lay on top of me.  
  
I still wasn’t sure if this was real or some weird dream I was having. Maybe I was still sitting on the plane, snoring away by the window while many people around me were covering their ears. Maybe I was actually still at home sleeping in my bed or maybe my cellphone had never even gotten that call. But I stopped myself from denying the events that were happening and decided to get a grip and finally accept that yes, this was real. I was laying on the couch with Hayley Williams and she was kissing me.  
  
She pulled away to catch her breath, still flashing me that beautiful smile. I smiled back and cupped her cheek. Her arms were still hugging me tightly and she rested her head on my chest.  
  
“This whole time,” she breathed.  
  
Without a second thought, I admitted to her what I had kept hidden throughout all the years we’ve been friends.  
  
“I love you, Hayley.”  
  
She didn’t move nor did she look up at me, making me start questioning if what I had confessed to her had freaked her out. After all, she just broke up with her boyfriend and I unexpectedly said these three words that could change everything between us. Just as I starting thinking about leaving the room to stop myself from panicking, she lifted her head and I saw that a single tear had fallen from the corner of her eye. However, she wasn’t really crying. She was actually still smiling, showing that the tears she shed were different tears.  
  
“I love you, too. I think I always have.”  
  
I didn’t know how to react to her words. The only thing I was able to do was kiss the top of her head and try my best to ignore how my heart was racing and ready to fly out of my chest because I was happier than I’ve ever been. Letting out a contented sigh, I closed my eyes and enjoyed her warmth against mine. Though I was happy, I was also exhausted and sleep had appeared to catch up with me. I still tried to stay awake, wanting to be with her as long as possible. I knew I wasn’t going to stay at her house for long because I had other places to go to in a few days. I still ended up losing the battle against sleep and eventually gave in. My eyes went from blinking frequently to stay open to remaining closed and the last thing I remembered before knocking out was her voice.  
  
 _”Stay with me.”_

 

* * *

 

 

When I woke up, I had no idea how long I had been out and it also took me a few minutes to realize where I was. I tried to move, only to realize that I couldn’t and after forcing myself to open my eyes, I saw that Hayley had fallen asleep on top of me. I glanced around, remembering that I was still in California. I was still at her house.  
  
So it was all real.  
  
She was still sleeping and I carefully got up from the couch, making sure to move out from under her without disturbing her. I ran my hands through my hair and headed out the door to get fresh air. When I got outside, the sun was already setting and I was surprised by how long we had slept. Though we both kind of needed it, considering she hadn’t slept in almost a day and I was probably jetlagged.  
  
I sat down on the sidewalk and looked at the clouds. Thanks to the sunset, they were an array of pink and orange, slowly gliding across the sky. As I watched the sun slowly fall, I heard footsteps behind me. Turning my head, I saw Hayley standing there. She must’ve fixed her hair a little because it didn’t look as tangled as much as it did earlier and by the looks of it, sleep helped her a lot. She looked way better than she did hours ago and I was glad for that.  
  
“Mind if I join you?” she asked.  
  
“Not at all,” I replied.  
  
Hayley sat beside me and moved closer to place her hand over mine. Our fingers intertwined and I smiled at her as she lay her head on me.  
  
“What did you mean earlier?” I looked at her. “You said ‘this whole time’ before I fell asleep. What did you mean by that?”  
  
She chuckled. “I meant that I’ve loved you this whole time.”  
  
I raised an eyebrow. “You really meant it?”  
  
“Of course I did.”  
  
She sounded sincere and though I know she was telling me the truth, I needed to take a few minutes to process the information. I had loved her all these years and I was just finding out that she had loved me, too. I couldn’t breathe for a moment, once again returning to my assumptions that this definitely had to be a dream. After silently freaking out on the inside, I knew I had to stop thinking so negative. This was happening. It was real and there was no reason for me to ruin it. Less than twenty-four hours ago, I was at home in my own bed and now I was sitting outside with the girl I had wanted all along.  
  
Nuzzling into my neck, she continued. “I’m so sorry it took me so long. You’ve always been my best friend and you’ve always been there for me. You’re always making me laugh with your funny stories, you’re always listening to me go on and on about my problems, and deep down, I’ve always loved you. You’ve always been the one.”  
  
I looked at her incredulously. “Me?”  
  
“You,” she kissed my neck. “Nobody else. It was never Josh Farro and it was definitely never Chad Gilbert.”  
  
“Not even Robert Pattinson?” I joked. We always had that small inside joke about how she had a thing for him and she laughed when she was reminded of this. Hearing her laughter was soothing and it felt so good to know that she was back to being the girl I adored. I’ve missed her.  
  
“No,” she shook her head, still laughing. “Not even him.”  
  
She reached up to run her fingers through my hair and crashed her lips into mine again. I grinned at the feeling of her kissing me. It was then I had decided that I didn’t want to leave her just yet. What I wanted most was to have her in my arms. She broke away and continued to play with my hair.  
  
“It’s always been  _you_ , Josh Franceschi.”  
  
I gave her a peck on the cheek and put an arm around her. We sat out there a little longer until the sun had finally disappeared. I didn’t care if it was dark or if it had gotten cold. What really mattered was that Hayley was okay. She was happy.  _We_  were happy. Together.  
  
I had to go on tour in a few days.  
  
But one more day with Hayley wouldn't hurt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I regret nothing.
> 
> Hope you all liked this two-shot!
> 
> -Aliya


End file.
